I tend to consider anything beyond pepperoni sacrilege. That is, unless cheese counts as a topping, but I think that's more necessary to the food being defined as a pizza rather than an optional topping.

Anything with the word veg- and supreme in it is good. I'm not a vegetarian, but damn, vegetable pizzas are just so good.

Particular favourite combinations are ham and pineapple; pepperoni, chicken and jalapeno peppers; or the local pizza shop's vegetable one which is onion, mushroom, sweetcorn, peppers, olives and about 20 different cheeses. I pick of the olives though and give them to olive-holic friend.

Actually, pizza sans cheese isn't as bad as it sounds. It's different though. The tomato base factors in a lot more heavily in the final taste, which is mainly why I can't handle sliced tomatoes on top of that. The only thing that really sucks is it just doesn't have a good texture compared to pizza with cheese.

Non-US branches of American pizza chains sometimes actually have some pretty good combinations. It's been a while, so I can't remember specifics, but they I remember a few with tomato sauce, a bunch of vegetables, one or more types of meat (ground beef/tuna/chicken/prawns), green chillies, and cheese.

I was also once pleasantly surprised by a nacho-inspired pizza: tortilla chips, capsicum, chicken, sour cream and so on.

The best pizza topping? The large ass-pepperoni you only find at gin-yoo-wine New Yohrk pizza places.

But since there aren't any around here, I'll take the pepperoni from Domino's. Pizza Hut is usually too greasy. I used to order pepperoni, Italian sausage, and extra cheese. I also like green bell peppers and occasionally onions.

I used to work for Pizza Hut. We always hated it when customers ordered anchovies. Those. Fuckers. REEK! Almost makes one denounce fish, even if you love it.

-Tomato and Avocado-Chicken and (Mushroom/Bacon/Peppers/Olives)(barbecue sauce in place of tomato sauce optional)-Chicken and avocado (regular sauce please)-Fresh mozzarella and basil-Anything in which the sauce has been replaced with pesto-Above, but with alfredo-White pizza (sauceless pizza topped with ricotta, garlic, onions, and other things)

When I was younger, I could eat meat on pizza. We had a favorite combination of pepperoni, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms. Another group favorite was pepperoni and black olives. Both of those are fine, but I can't eat either anymore without serious repercussions. I have to keep the cheese portion to a minimum too, so these days I usually go for mushroom, onion and olive, minimal cheese. I like it with the standard tomato sauce, but it's great with pesto and okay with white sauce (ersatz alfredo).

I'm also not fond of fresh tomato on pizza. It's almost always watery and tasteless. Chopped sundried tomatoes, on the other hand, have a kick of concentrated flavor. For pineapple on pizza, I like to let it air dry overnight so it's not so watery. I like the flavor tho, especially with a spicy ham-ish meat.

We had a decent local pizza place in a town I lived in two towns over from where I live now, if that made sense. The name of the place was called Covalli's, owned by a local Italian family. Yes, it was the best pizza you've ever had. They closed down that location though and moved elsewhere. In same said town, there is another local pizza place, but their pizza makes burnt cardboard taste good. There is a local place near work that is the r0xx0rz. I go there from time to time. They have New York-style pizza, although not as authentic. They're close enough though. Besides, I grew up on Domino's.

Azrael wrote:I'm a tomato sauce kind of guy, no pesto or alfredo. And I'll 15th the idea that fresh tomato slices have no place on pizza. Nor, in my mind do the giant disks of mozzarella.

Mozzarella alone? No. Mozzarella mixed with Asiago, Parmesan and Provolone? Yes. Alternate the slices in order to get a good flavor. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. I have a recipe for pizza from The Sopranos Family Cookbook - has you make your own sauce and crust.

Mix water, yeast, and sugar in small bowl. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes, until yeast is creamy. Then stir until yeast is dissolved.

In a larger bowl combine flour and salt. Add yeast micture and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic, for about 10-12 minutes.

Lightly coat a large bowl with oil (I use Pam) and place dough in bowl. Turn dough over once to coat entire ball. Cover with saran wrap and place in unheated oven, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until dough is doubled in size.

Oil a large baking sheet, about 15 x 10 x 1 inches. Flatten dough with fist. Place dough in center of pan and stretch it out to fit. Cover with saran wrap and place back in unheated oven and allow to rise for an hour, until puffy and nearly double in bulk.

To make the sauce, pour oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic, tomatoes and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Add basil and let sauce cool.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

With your fingertips, firmly press dough to make dimples at one-inch intervals all over the surface. Spread sauce over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around the edge. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove pizza from oven. Arrange slices of cheese on top. Sprinkle grated cheese, then add your favorite toppings. Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Bake for about five minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is browned. Cut into squares and serve hot.

Azrael wrote:I'm a tomato sauce kind of guy, no pesto or alfredo. And I'll 15th the idea that fresh tomato slices have no place on pizza. Nor, in my mind do the giant disks of mozzarella.

Mozzarella alone? No. Mozzarella mixed with Asiago, Parmesan and Provolone? Yes. Alternate the slices in order to get a good flavor. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. I have a recipe for pizza from The Sopranos Family Cookbook - has you make your own sauce and crust.

Chicken Spinach - chicken, mushrooms, onions, spinach cooked in fry pan, add some sour cream or other 'white sauce' , just enough to make it goopy, add straight to pizza crust without any tomato sauce. Works best with parmesan mixed in, and no mozza on top. (we did that one twice in one week)

Bakemaster wrote:I'll agree that 450/500 (whatever your home oven goes to) is not hot enough, but damn, 825? That guy's getting a little crazy about the char.

Actually, in most commercial pizza restaurants, mainly the big three (Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and Domino's) the ovens are set to 700-something or 800-something degrees. IIRC when I worked at Pizza Hut, the oven was set to 825. The oven is a conventional oven, and is actually a conveyor belt. The pizzas go in one end, roll through the oven, and come out fully cooked out the other end, in which an employee will pull them out, take them out of the pan, slice them up with the big rocker-slicer, and then place them in the boxes. Actual baking time is 5 to 6 minutes at that high a temperature. The 30-40 minutes you might be quoted for delivery time (minimum time usually quoted) allows the cook to make the pizza (usually takes 12 minutes total - 5 minutes to apply toppings, then 5 to 6 minutes to cook, then a couple of minutes for the person who's cutting the pizzas to remove it from the oven, cut it, and place it in a box), and the driver to drive to your location. Sometimes it can take longer depending on how busy the store is (Friday and Saturday nights are hell), how many other deliveries the driver has to make (sometimes they're assigned three or four deliveries in one go), and traffic.

Sometimes the pizzas may sit a while on the counter, waiting for drivers to pick them up. This mainly occurs when there's a large rush of orders, and all available drivers are already making deliveries. Sometimes the manager and/or assistant manager has to pitch in and deliver.

If you decide to pick up the pizza, you will usually be quoted 10 to 15 minutes, or 15 to 20 minutes as when it will be ready for pick up. If it takes you that long to get to the store, it might be well worth it to do it that way.

Yes, I am familiar with the business, having worked at a (non-chain) pizza place for two years. But our pizza was a unique family style, somewhat similar to greek, that cooked around 550 for 20-25 minutes. I knew other places had hotter ovens but didn't suspect they'd get *quite* that hot outside of an open flame brick oven pizzeria.

My favourite is one we call "The Heartburn Special". Onions, green peppers, black olives, pepperoni, sausage, bacon and as many different types of cheese that they have available. I'm sure we could make it more worthy of it's moniker, but trust me, it earned it's name.

Azrael wrote:I'm a tomato sauce kind of guy, no pesto or alfredo. And I'll 15th the idea that fresh tomato slices have no place on pizza. Nor, in my mind do the giant disks of mozzarella.

Mozzarella alone? No. Mozzarella mixed with Asiago, Parmesan and Provolone? Yes. Alternate the slices in order to get a good flavor. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. I have a recipe for pizza from The Sopranos Family Cookbook - has you make your own sauce and crust.

we had a pizza party several years ago and people brought some damn interesting things to put on pizzas. i think my absolute favorite though was calamari, goat cheese, roasted tomatoes and red peppers and sauteed onions. i have never had, before or since, such an awesome pizza. i also really enjoy California PIzza Kitchens Thai pizza - chicken, onions, carrots, and spicey peanut sauce. its just way too expensive for what you get so i dont buy them often.

of the regularly offered toppings i prefer chicken and green peppers but i'll eat just about anything. nofishthnx.

Back in our day we had to walk uphill both ways through the snow on fire without feet to get fucking terrible relationship advice from disinterested and socially maladjusted nerds. Belial